Lassen Volcanic National Park

We were able to visit only a part of Lassen Volcanic Park today. The storms this past weekend dumped enough snow to close the road through the park. Our plan was to approach the park from the north entrance, continue through the park and out the south entrance. Instead, we could only drive about ten miles into the park at the Manzanita Lake area. 

The day was clear and sunny and at least we were able to see Lassen peak in all its glory.

Lassen peak reflected in Manzanita Lake

We watched a video at the information center where we learned a lot about this region and the volcanoes here. Lassen Peak is one of the largest plug dome volcanoes in the world and the southernmost in the Cascade Range. The other three types of volcanoes - shield, composite and cinder cone - are also found right here. Lassen's last eruptions were between 1914 and 1921, with its largest explosion on May 22, 1915. It occurred to me that May must be a popular month for eruptions because Lassen's cousin to the north, Mt St Helens, erupted on May 18, 1980. 
We drove the ten miles to the Devastated Area where we had a great view of the gaping crater after the blast. 

the crater from the eruption and resulting lava flows in the Devastated Area

Back at Manzanita, we hiked along the trail around the lake and had spectacular views of both Lassen and the adjacent Chaos Crags.

Chaos Crags & Lassen's perfect dome

At least we were able to partially celebrate Lassen's 100th birthday as a National Park. We will need to continue the celebration on another visit to see the rest of the park.